Saturday, June 19, 2010

The Barker Character, Comic and Cartoon Museum

The wife and I just came back from a mid-week vacation where we revisited a fascinating place that we stumbled across a few years back. The Barker Character, Comic and Cartoon Museum located in Cheshire, CT is the country’s largest collection of comic strip, cartoon, TV, western and advertising collectibles. Their exhibits span fourteen decades from the 1870s to present day. The Museum is the personal collection of Herb and Gloria Barker. Herb was an avid collector of memorabilia but when his hobby outgrew their home, Gloria expressed her “desire” for him to find a new venue for his vast collection. In 1997 the Museum celebrated its grand opening and to this day continues to add great finds to the expansive display, never ceasing to evoke fond childhood memories for all ages.

Located adjacent to the Museum is one of the most renowned animation art galleries in the world, The Barker Animation, Fine Art & Sculptures Gallery. They feature America’s premier artists, working in a variety of genres which include classical, contemporary, whimsical and traditional. Some of the amazing pieces for sale included signed artwork from Chuck Jones, Iwao Takamoto and Bill Melendez…just to name a few.

Upon entering the Museum, we were greeted by our official tour guide, Jay Zabel. Unfortunately, we were also greeted by a large sign indicating “no photos allowed,” thus my hopes of being able to share this gem with readers at David-Wasting-Paper were dashed. Jay noticed our disappointment and suggested we seek special permission from the Gallery. I explained to Gallery Director, Allison Simcik, that my intention with the photos was to introduce the Museum and Gallery to my readership. She placed a phone call and upon verification of the nature of my blog, we were granted one-time approval to document our visit. Thank you!

Here is Jay standing in front of some very old Disney memorabilia.

Jay was not only knowledgeable about the thousands of items and their history, but he himself shared in our excitement and enthusiasm as we discovered lost childhood treasures throughout the tour. If you are ever in the Connecticut area, it is a must see for any comic or cartoon enthusiast…and tell them David-Wasting-Paper sent you!

Paula, I'd plan at least one and a half to two hours for the Museum and another 1/2 to an hour for the Gallery. The pictures here are just the tip of the iceberg...they also have the original clay figures and props from Gumby, a whole room of lunchboxes, tons more of Disney, Popeye, boxed Halloween costumes, Soakies and much, much more.

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Who's David?

I'm a fifty-something year old married guy who is referred to as "The Geek" by my wife. I grew up in the 60’s-70's as a huge fan of the Big Bad Bruins, Godzilla, Rock and Blues Music, Comics, all things scary, drawing and reading. Hmm...doesn't sound like a geek to me... I work for a financial institution as a Web QA tester. I am happily married and have been for 20 years. I enjoy cartooning and drawing in pen and ink and occasionally will add some watercolor. I have been playing the guitar for years and just recently taught myself the ukulele. I love classic Sci-Fi and Monster movies. Preferably in Black and White.